“Damian, wait. I didn’t mean to sound so rude,” I sighed. “This is hard for me. I’m not used to…” I waved a hand between us, “...this. I didn’t mean it’s none of your business. I just don’t want to talk about it now.” Great. Now I was babbling. But I felt like I should smooth things over and try not to be my usual flippant self since he’d been so great and patient with me. “Maybe after—”
“Cassandra.”
The way he calmly said my name shut me up. Plus, that slight undertone of a Spanish accent had me weak in the knees. Latin Lover indeed.
“Stop. It’s okay. I get it.” One corner of his mouth curved upward. “I get you. Now, less babbling and more showering.” He pointed to the bathroom again.
After a beat of silence, I snickered. “You got it.”
Grinning, he sauntered out of the room.
I stared at his back until he disappeared. Smiling like a fool, I spun around and hurried to the shower.
“He gets me,” I muttered. Finally, somebody did.
15
DAMIAN
Before I settled into my office chair, my phone rang. Already distracted by the file I had opened on my laptop, I absently answered, “Yes, Bree?”
“Mr. Hudson is on the line.”
“Thanks.” Scrolling through the financial records sent by the CFO, I waited for Ken.
“Alvarez, you’ve finally arrived. I stopped by your office this morning and was shocked when Bree told me you weren’t in yet.”
“Okay…” Sitting back, I gave Ken my full attention before he realized I was distracted. He’d give me hell for working during our conversation. He could be so sensitive.
“Well, why were you late? Are you sick?”
Blowing out an exasperated sigh, I asked, “Ken, are you my business partner or my mother?”
He laughed. “So Mr. Serious has a sense of humor after all. Relax, I’m just making sure you’re okay after… you know… the whole baby thing.”
I smiled. The baby thing? “Thanks. I’m fine.”
I was more than fine. I’d accepted the baby news with more enthusiasm than I ever thought I would. It had a lot to do with the woman carrying my baby. I was into her more than I’d ever been into anyone. Baby or no baby, I wanted Cass.
Yesterday morning with her was amazing. I surprised even myself. Typically, I’d be reluctant to invite a woman into my personal space. I was always careful about giving them the wrong idea—that I was interested in anything more than sex. But I’d wanted Cass with me, in my home, and I’d enjoyed every moment of having her there.
Being with her was easy. We clicked. And our back and forth when we both fought to get our way was incredibly stimulating. It was more than the great sex with her. I just saw her fitting into my life somehow, even though we had so many barriers between us.
Ken had gone quiet and my thoughts wandered, but I reined them back in and went back to our conversation. “The baby thing, as you put it,” I chuckled, “isn’t as bad as I made it seem the other day. I just had a moment, and I’m over it.”
“Huh,” Ken grunted.
I could imagine him stroking his chin the way he did when he was trying to solve a mystery. He was damn good at his job, so no doubt he’d come to the correct conclusion.
“You spent the night with her, didn't you?” he asked. “And now you’re more smitten than you were before.”
“This is why you make a great PI, Ken. Always quick on the uptake.” Reaching for my stress ball, I crushed the ever-loving hell out of it. If Ken could see me now, he’d berate me for being uptight. “But if you use the word smitten to describe me one more time, I’ll hop on the elevator to the twenty-ninth floor and kick your ass.”
His roar of laughter made me crush the tiny ball harder. “Since I know you're fully capable, I’m shutting up now. But it’s obvious that you’re into Cassandra.”
“You said you were shutting up.” I sighed. He wasn’t wrong, but I needed time to contend with my rapidly changing feelings.
He cleared his throat. “Okay. Speaking of your girlfriend—”